Deadly Blessing (Blu-ray)

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All Rise...

More than once, Judge Patrick Naugle has been blessed by Ernest Borgnine.

The Charge

Pray you're not blessed.

The Case

Jim (Douglas Barr, Spaced Invaders)
and Martha Schmidt (Maren Jensen, TV's Battlestar Galactica) own a rural farm and
lead a simple life, living not far from a fanatical religious group called the
Hittites. Jim was once a Hittite but left the group, which is led by the
radically conservative Isaiah (Ernest Borgnine, The Poseidon Adventure), long ago.
When Jim is crushed and killed by his tractor and one of Isaiah's sons, William
(Michael Berryman, Weird Science), turns
up dead as well, things start to take a turn for the worst for poor Martha. Two
friends show up (Total Recall's
Sharon Stone and Grease's Susan Buckner) to
share in her grief, but their support doesn't give much comfort as dead bodies
begin to pop up like weeds. Is there a crazed serial killer on the loose? Or is
this the work of the 'incubus'?

Deadly Blessing is one of director Wes Craven's earlier efforts, his
third feature film after the influential low budget shockers The Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes. The film is clearly
rooted in Craven's own religious upbringing (he was born into a strict Baptist
household and attended conservative Christian Wheaton College) and is apparently
what happens when the screenplay for Witness gets a horror overhaul without much
thought or consideration to plot, pacing, or acting.

Deadly Blessing was released in theaters, which is surprising
considering it feels a lot like a made for TV movie-of-the-week. The scares are
light as a feather with dialogue right out of the 'Terrible Screenwriting 101'
textbook, including gems like, "We are the kingdom of God; we have no business
with the serpents!" Deadly Blessing is a movie rooted in mediocrity, a
rather flaccid effort that is never scary enough nor gory enough to be a truly
effective horror film. Interestingly, there is some foreshadowing of Craven's
bigger hits, including a bathtub sequence straight out of the original A Nightmare on Elm Street
(substituting in a snake for Freddy's razor claws). For a brief few moments we
get to see where Craven's career would eventually lead him, but apparently he
first had to make duds like Deadly Blessing along the way.

Ernest Borgnine—who apparently never met a role he couldn't chew up
and spit out—was up for a Best Supporting Razzie award for his portrayal
of Isaiah Schmidt, and for good reason: his overacting hits wacky highs during
almost every frame of the film. Borgnine is one of those rare actors who is
always fascinating to watch on screen, even when he's hitting all the wrong
notes. If nothing else, at least Borgnine makes his appearance interesting, if
overly bonkers. Also featured is a very young Sharon Stone who strains as hard
as she can to squeeze every penny out of her acting lessons. She apparently had
to put a real spider in her mouth during one scene, which must have made
flashing her goods in Basic
Instinct seem like child's play. Maren Jensen is the lead actress and, while
certainly pretty, she doesn't really set the screen on fire (not surprising,
considering Jensen would leave acting after this film). My favorite character in
the film is played by cult actor Micheal Berryman (who has starred in various
Craven films, including The Hills Have Eyes), who has spent his entire
career playing mutant weirdos due to the rare condition hypohidrotic ectodermal
dysplasia. Berryman plays a wacky Amish-esque son who spends most of the film
condemning people to hell. I sort of wish the entire movie had focused on this
character, as Berryman ended up being the most interesting person on the
screen.

Deadly Blessing goes completely off the rails in the final half hour,
revealing a twist ending that feels as authentic as Astroturf. In fact, I would
say that of all the 'twist' endings I've seen in my life, this one might just be
one of the worst (Sleepaway Camp
did it a lot better). Just when you think the film can't get any more
ridiculous, Craven throws in a second 'twist' ending that's even more forehead
slap-worthy than the first twist, and with terrible special effects to boot. M.
Night Shyamalan, eat your heart out.

Deadly Blessing seems to have a lot to say about religious
affiliation—especially laws of the church and what it means to possess
blind faith—but it's buried under the humdrum killings and Borgnine's
hammy acting. The film doesn't work as a horror movie, fails miserably as any
kind of parable, and is barely passable as B-cinema. Everyone in this
mess—Wes Craven, Ernest Borgnine, and Sharon Stone—have done far
better work that is worthy of your time. Deadly Blessing, unfortunately,
is not.

Presented in 1.78:1/1080p high definition widescreen, this is a low budget
film so the transfer doesn't look great. Although the film certainly looks
better than it ever has, the image is often grainy and not very sharp. I don't
want to give the impression that this is a terrible picture as much as a
mediocre one. Colors are relatively sharp and the black levels are all mostly
solid. Fans of the film will certainly be thrilled that Scream Factory has
released it on Blu-ray. The soundtrack is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Surround in English. This audio mix works fine for the film, but it certainly
won't blow away anyone's home theater system. There are a few directional
effects to be found here, but it's mostly a front heavy mix. Also included on
this disc is a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix in English, as well as English
subtitles.

For such a relatively obscure film, Deadly Blessing certainly
features its fair share of supplemental materials. Included on this disc is a
commentary track by Horrorhound Magazine's Sean Clark and director Wes Craven,
an all-new interview with actor Michael Berryman ("Say Your Prayers!"), an
all-new interview with actress Susan Buckner ("Secrets Revealed"), an interview
with creature designer John Naulin ("Rise of the Incubus"), a featurette looking
at the screenplay with writers Matthew Barr and Glenn Benest ("So It Was
Written"), a theatrical trailer, some TV spots, a few radio spots, and a short
photo gallery from the film.